And yet all these efforts at transparency
and disclosure were derided as manipulation by our opponents, who,
furthermore, accused us of lying about what we knew. Ignoring the chronology
of events, as well as the government's efforts, some of our opponents invented
a parallel reality, accusing us of a "coverup" even though the government was
keeping the public informed, practically in real time, of all the evidence
available and of the course of the investigation. Those who twisted the facts
in this way cannot feel very proud today. Instead of backing the government
during the worst crisis in Spain's recent history, our opponents declared that
truth and transparency were on their side.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A federal judge has ruled that the Federal Trade Commission overstepped its authority in creating a national do-not-call list against telemarketers.

Either this judge is one of the infamous
liberals, and his ruling should be overthrown? Or, the law was badly
drafted so it could be struck down? Possibly the people who issued this
Registry knew that it would be thrown out, but wanted the glory of the
announcement. Because, now, they got the glory and the Court gets
the brickbats!

There are obviously great cultural divides in
the world. There is an article here that suggests that
technology is the factor which differentiates the primitive from the advanced
cultures. I would argue, in this article, that technology seems to be the
most obvious explanation for culture divides, but that in fact it is "awareness
levels" in the different groups and that this (internal) awareness level is
outwardly manifest in moral or immoral behavior.

African Americans have been disproportionately affected by
HIV/AIDS since the epidemic’s beginning and the disparity has deepened over
time.1 African Americans represent 12% of the U.S. population but now account
for more than half of all new HIV infections estimated to occur in the U.S. each
year and approximately half of newly reported AIDS cases.2 They account for more
people estimated to be living with AIDS and more deaths among persons with AIDS
than any other racial/ethnic group. HIV was the number one cause of death for
African Americans between the ages of 25 and 44 in 2000. The epidemic has had a
disproportionate impact on different subgroups of African Americans including
women, teens, children, and men who have sex with men, and the epidemic’s impact
varies across the country. Moreover, African Americans with HIV/AIDS may face
additional barriers to accessing care than their white counterparts.

The latest statistics show that
African-Americans account for 54% of the 43,000 or so new cases of HIV
infection in the U.S. last year, up from 35% of new cases in 1993, according
to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most troubling,
in 2001 AIDS became the leading cause of death for African-Americans between
25 and 44 years of age

Ironically, the current struggle of same-sex marriages
might be a continuation of the decay of the country’s biblical standard on
marriage, which started with the acceptance of divorce.

With the gradual societal embracing of divorce over the
past 50 years, the traditional marriage image has been utterly shattered.
However, no one established a satisfactory replacement for the traditional
moral authority — the Bible.

"technology may evolve to the point where it becomes
impossible to enforce actual child pornography laws because the Government
cannot prove that certain pornographic images are real children. In the event
this occurs," he said, "the Government should not be foreclosed from enacting a
regulation of virtual child pornography that contains an appropriate affirmative
defense or some other narrowly drawn restriction" that does not violate the
First Amendment.

Judges. Too many judges are unfit for their position. How else can one
explain the New York State Supreme Court ruling that women can bare their
breasts in public because men can? How to explain the judges who liberate
criminals only to have those criminals murder and rape again? Or the many judges
who regard their primary role as imposing their values on society? This has led
to an undermining of the democratic process beyond the wildest hopes of any
homegrown fascist or communist. (Dennis Prager)

The Sheriff’s Office is getting its message out through a
series of periodic undercover sting operations, the most recent of which
resulted in eight arrests last week. The rest area is located on the east side
of I-4 near where International Speedway Boulevard branches off from the
interstate. While the rest area has no bathroom facilities, there is a parking
area along with picnic tables and an open field that has become a popular
meeting spot for men looking for sex. The Sheriff’s Office’s Crime Suppression
Team has targeted the area for periodic sting operations where a male deputy
working undercover waits to be approached by suspected offenders. Once
approached, the suspects strike up a conversation that quickly turns to sex.
When the suspect exposes himself or commits any other offense, a signal is sent
for the take-down team to move in.

"The petitioners," wrote Kennedy, "are entitled
to respect for their private lives. The state cannot demean their existence or
control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime." The
drafters of the Constitution, he concluded, "knew times can blind us to certain
truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary and proper
in fact serve only to oppress. As the Constitution endures, persons in every
generation can invoke its principles in their own search for greater freedom."

In Georgia, they outlawed sodomy for everybody. Texas,
only for homosexuals. So what Justice O'Connor did is said is when you make
that distinction, that triggers the Equal Protection Clause, and I can strike
it down on that ground, not the ground the rest of the justices today used.

HUME: All right, now, Justice Scalia says in his dissent,
that -- notes that the majority here said that they are not dealing with
marital gay rights. He says do not believe it. What is he talking about?

SEC. 2. And be it farther enacted,
That if any person shall write, print, utter or publish, or shall cause or
procure to be written, printed, uttered or published, or shall knowingly and
willingly assist or aid in writing, printing, uttering or publishing any
false, scandalous and malicious writing or writings against the government of
the United States, or either house of the Congress of the United States, or
the President of the United States, with intent to defame the said government,
or either house of the said Congress, or the said President, or to bring them,
or either of them, into contempt or disrepute; or to excite against them, or
either or any of them, the hatred of the good people of the United States, or
to stir up sedition within the United States, or to excite any unlawful
combinations therein, for opposing or resisting any law of the United States,
or any act of the President of the United States, done in pursuance of any
such law, or of the powers in him vested by the
constitution of the
United States, or to resist, oppose, or defeat any such law or act, or to
aid, encourage or abet any hostile designs of any foreign nation against
United States, their people or government, then such person, being thereof
convicted before any court of the United States having jurisdiction thereof,
shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars, and by
imprisonment not exceeding two years.

Our concern is that many Catholic colleges and universities
are inviting and honoring commencement speakers who are publicly and often
stridently in opposition to clear, fundamental Catholic teaching. Most often we
protest the selection of abortion-rights advocates, not because we are obsessed
with this one issue, but because for some reason Catholic educators repeatedly
invite speakers who are outspokenly "pro-choice."

Americans tend to view First Amendment rights as near
absolute, but another exception may soon be created as the Supreme Court
considers the case of MegaDale Inc. vs. Lisa Hvizdos. The issue, say
store owners, is that yelling "Mom" in a crowded shopping mall threatens their
livelihood.

We have seen the power of amateur videos taken at events such as the Chicago
School Hazing Incident. It is hard to ignore the "truth" in these videos.
Obviously these videos are incomplete slices of life, but we tend to think of
them as accurate for that slice. It is hard to find any other explanation
for what was seen in these videos -- other than "wrong behavior" gone wild.